This invention relates in general to nursing bottle holders and deals more particularly with an improved bottle holder for use with an infant safety seat of the type carried in a motor vehicle and having a restraining device for releasably securing an infant in properly seated position.
Heretofore various nursing bottle holders have been provided for use with infant safety seats and typical examples of such devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,121,797 to MacNeil, issued Oct. 28, 1978; and 4,315,654 to Crook, issued Feb. 16, 1982. However, such bottle holders of rigid construction present a potential source of injury to a child seated in a vehicle in the event the vehicle stops suddenly or becomes involved in a traffic accident. Further, if the device provides rigid support for a bottle, the bottle itself may become a source of potential injury to the seated child in such an emergency situation.
Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved nursing bottle holder for an infant safety seat and which is of non-rigid construction for supporting a nursing bottle in comfortable feeding position while allowing for free release of the bottle in the event of a vehicle emergency. A further aim of the present invention is to provide an improved nursing bottle holder for use with a vehicle seat and which is generally anatomically contoured to partially protect a seated infant from being struck by a lightweight flying object, such as a loose item within a vehicle, which may become airborne in the event that the vehicle stops suddenly or is involved in a traffic accident.